Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for reducing the crest factor of a signal. The signal represented in the time domain by a digital signal vector having elements being sampled values of the signal.
The crest factor of a signal specifies the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) of the signal. A high crest factor of a signal entails a more complicated circuit engineering for signal processing than a low crest factor, since the circuits for signal processing must be configured for a large amplitude range.
In particular, signals that have been generated using discrete multi-tone modulation have a high crest factor. Discrete multi-tone modulation (DMT), and also multi-carrier modulation, are modulation methods that are particularly suitable for transmitting data via linearly distorting channels. Examples of fields of application for discrete multi-tone modulation are digital audio broadcast (DAB) under the designation of orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM), and transmission of data via telephone lines under the designation of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL).
A DMT transmission system has a coder which allocates to the individual carrier frequencies bits of a serial digital data signal which is to be transmitted, and generates a digital signal vector. The digital signal vector is transformed into the time domain by inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT). The transmitted signal represented by the transformed digital signal vector has an amplitude distribution that corresponds approximately to a Gaussian distribution. Large amplitudes occur in this case with the same probability as small amplitudes. The crest factor (peak-to-average ratio (PAR) of a signal) of the transmitted signal is therefore very large. A digital-to-analog converter downstream of the inverse fast Fourier transformation, and an analog output amplifier downstream, in turn, of the converter must therefore be configured for a large amplitude range. In order to avoid the overloading of the two circuits by transmitted signals with excessively large amplitudes, and to keep down the outlay on circuitry for the digital-to-analog converter and the analog output amplifier, the aim is therefore to reduce the crest factor of the transmitted signal.
Known methods employ unused carrier frequencies for the purpose of reducing the crest factor in the case of discrete multi-tone modulation for data transmission. Non-used carrier frequencies are employed as redundancy points for reducing the crest factor in a reference by M. Friese, titled xe2x80x9cMehrtrxc3xa4germodulation mit kleinem Crest-Faktorxe2x80x9d [xe2x80x9cMulti-Carrier Modulation With Small Crest Factorxe2x80x9d], VDI Fortschritt-Berichte, Series 10, No. 472, Dxc3xcsseldorf 1997. However, it is disadvantageous in this method that there is a need for a relatively high outlay on circuitry for the purpose of selecting and occupying the unused carrier frequencies, and that a receiver must be informed of which carrier frequencies have been used to reduce the crest factor.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method for reducing the crest factor of a signal which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art methods of this general type, in which a simple method for reducing the crest factor is provided.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for reducing a crest factor of signals, which includes generating a digital signal vector having elements yk being sampled values of a signal and representing the signal in a time domain; calculating a digital correction vector from the elements of the digital signal vector; adding the digital correction vector and the digital signal vector resulting in a corrected digital signal vector; and outputting the corrected digital signal vector.
The method reduces large amplitudes of the signal represented by the digital signal vector, and thereby reduces the crest factor. The outlay for this method is advantageously low because of there being only a simple correction step to reduce the crest factor. The method can also be carried out many times in sequence on the respectively corrected digital signal vector, as a result of which the crest factor of the signal can possibly be reduced further. It is also advantageous that the digital correction vectors are calculated directly from the elements of the digital signal vector and that no other signals are required.
In a particularly preferred development of the method, the elements of the digital correction vector are calculated from the maximum (max) element and the minimum (min) element of the elements of the digital signal vector as follows:
xcex94y1k=xe2x88x920.5xc2x7(max (yk)+min (yk) )
where k=1,2, . . . ,N.
It is advantageous in this case that the digital correction vector represents a signal whose frequency spectrum is at 0 Hz and scarcely influences the frequency spectrum of the signal represented by the digital signal vector.
In a particularly preferred development of the method, the elements of the digital correction vector can also be calculated from the maximum (max) element and the minimum (min) element of the elements of the digital signal vector as follows:
xcex94y2k=(xe2x88x921)kxc2x7(xe2x88x920.5)xc2x7(max((xe2x88x921)kxc2x7yk)=min ((xe2x88x921) kxc2x7yk))
where k=1,2, . . . ,N.
It is advantageous in this case that the digital correction vector represents a signal whose frequency spectrum is half the sampling rate of the transmitted signal and scarcely influences the frequency spectrum of the signal represented by the digital signal vector.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, the corrected digital signal vector is expanded by M elements, the M elements being elements of the corrected digital signal vector. This measure xe2x80x94also termed cyclic prefixxe2x80x94advantageously assists a receiver to equalize the signal.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method, the addition of the digital correction vector and of the digital signal vector is carried out only when at least one of the elements of the digital signal vector exceeds a prescribable threshold value. The outlay on the method is advantageously reduced thereby once again, since no longer is every digital signal vector from a sequence of digital signal vectors corrected.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method, the addition of the digital correction vector and of the digital signal vector is carried out only when at least one of the elements of the digital signal vector falls below a prescribable threshold value.
The signal represented by the digital signal vector is preferably generated using a multi-carrier method (multi-carrier modulation system). Discrete multi-tone modulation is particularly preferred in this case as multi-carrier method. However, the method can be applied in principle to any multi-carrier method.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method for reducing the crest factor of a signal, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.